Poets from Thomas Hardy to TS Eliot and Wendy Cope articulate the wonder – and dread – of the festive season
We turn to poems at the big moments in a year, as poetry is the language we reach for when everyday language simply isn’t enough. Great poets can articulate what most of us find impossible to put into words. And when it comes to the wonder – or dread – of Christmas, we find that there’s a poem for pretty much everything, from profound expressions of love and loss right down to the troubled ruminations of a turkey.
Poetry anthologies have always been a perfect way to discover the almost infinite variety of poems and poets. My new anthology, A Poet for Every Day of the Yearis a gathering of 366 poems by 366 poets from across the globe and across time. The book travels through a calendar year. And so, in the spirit of this Guardian series, here are my top 10 Christmas poems.
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